


Whose Reality Is This?

by AJenno



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Happy Ending, Humor, M/M, Memory Alteration, Nightmares, Oblivious Stiles, Panic Attacks, Riddles, Witch Curses, Wolf Derek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 21:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14481987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AJenno/pseuds/AJenno
Summary: Stiles has always wanted a dog and now that he's moved out of his dad's house he's determined to finally get one. Also known as there's a different reality than the one we've all known in which Wolf Derek is thought to be a large dog that Stiles adopts. Cue humor, confusion, snack providing mischief, and fluff.





	1. To Adopt a Dog

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nosetothewind94](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nosetothewind94/gifts).



> “Well he growls at most of the employees and refuses to eat the dog food we’ve put out for him.”
> 
> “And?”
> 
> “And sadly we can’t work with him. He’s going to be put down in the next week if he’s not adopted.”
> 
> “I’ll take him.”
> 
> “Wait, seriously?”

This was the day. Everything was ready at home and Stiles was damn proud of himself. He had been preparing for this for months now, ever since he bought the house by the woods and fixed it up with his dad and Scott’s help. The place was homey as hell now and all it was lacking was a dog. So, Stiles parked his beloved jeep in front of the Beacon Hills animal shelter, excitement flooding his veins. He’d wanted a dog for a long time and he knew today was the right day to adopt. When he stepped inside, the receptionist smiled at him. 

“Can I help you?”

“Yes. Stiles, Stiles Stilinski. I was coming in to adopt an animal, well a dog to be more specific. I have this house out in the woods and it really needs a dog. And I’ve wanted a dog for so long so…You probably don’t want to hear all of this, do you?”

The woman laughed, standing up. “You’re fine. Trust me, I love it when people come in here and are practically sparking with excitement. Come on back. I’ll lead you into a room where we can get some details from you, see what you’re looking forth, and so on. After that we’ll tour you around and let you see the dogs, see if any of them stand out to you.”

“Awesome, really awesome.” Stiles said, grinning like a fool as he followed her.

Thirty minutes later, Stiles was kneeling in front of a large cage where a massive black dog stared at him from the back of the enclosure. And if Stiles didn’t know better, he’d say the dog (Seriously though dog was an understatement), was glaring at him. “What’s his story?” Stiles asked Amber, the employee who was showing him around.

“Ah, well, this one is a special case. He’s been here for about a week now. As you can see, the shelter is pretty booked and fortunately, we’re a no kill shelter. But, and you didn’t hear this from me, because the owner of this place recently passed away. His son took over and any “problematic” animals go over to the pound the next town over, where they’re a kill shelter. In short, if animals are here too long, they get euthanized, just not here; as if that makes it any less humane.” She muttered, and Stiles could clearly see she was irked. 

“Huh. Okay, so why is he problematic to you?”

Amber kneeled down next to him, biting her lip, before she spoke again. “Well he growls at most of the employees and refuses to eat the dog food we’ve put out for him.”

“And?”

“And sadly we can’t work with him. He’s going to be put down in the next week if he’s not adopted. I know that sounds like a walking advertisement but--”

“I’ll take him.” Stiles interrupted her smoothly, grinning at the dog, who huffed at him.

“Wait, seriously?”

“Yep. I’ve been in this guy’s presence enough to know he’s it for me.”

“That would be a super romantic cheesy movie if this wasn’t a dog we were talking about.” She told him, and Stiles could hear the humor in her voice. “Alright, well I personally think you’re crazy, though I am grateful. I don’t want to send him to the pound. But, I do want you to spend some time with him in a room together, see how it goes. Thus far he’s only growled at the others, never any other type of aggressive behavior so I’m holding on to hope.”

“Then I guess we’ll see what happens.” And with that said, the plan was moved into action. But Stiles was surprised at the dog’s behavior when they were put into a room together. The dog stared at Stiles for a moment, then moved around the room, sniffing at everything. When Stiles attempted to move closer, the dog growled at him. But Stiles simply held up his hands, crouching down, making no other move. After a few moments, the dog huffed once more and didn’t growl at Stiles again. 

An hour later Stiles was the proud owner of a furry canine named Derek (Don’t ask questions. Seriously, there was a good reason for that name), who was busily sniffing every inch of Stiles’ backseat. “Yeah take my advice, dude. If there’s any food on the floor, don’t eat it. I haven’t cleaned out the jeep in a while.” Derek poked his head up and seriously, Stiles could swear he saw the dog roll his eyes. 

When Stiles pulled up in front of his house, he thought he heard a whimper from the backseat. But when he parked, and looked back, Derek was pawing at the door to be let out. “Alright, give me a second Mr. Impatient.” Stiles muttered, clipping the leash on to the collar that came from the shelter. Derek himself had a collar that had come with him to the shelter but wouldn’t let the employees take it off him. And Stiles wouldn’t mess with it either until he won more favor with Derek. As the two headed for the front door, Stiles grinned. “Welcome to your new place, buddy. I hope you’ll make yourself at home.”


	2. To Keep a Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles keeps the large, fluffy, dog he adopted because duh, Derek's a great dog.

Their first night together was a lot of argument, compromise, and finally, giving in on Stiles’ part. He had purposely bought a dog bed, a rather large one, that he had put down in one corner of the master bedroom. And though he had shown Derek where to sleep, even trying to entice him to the bed with toys, then treats, Derek continued to climb up on the bed. And after pulling the huge dog off the bed for the fifth time, Stiles cursed. “Listen here, buddy. This is my bed. I get that it’s a big bed, and it’s tempting to join me. But I bought that dog bed just for you and you’re going to sleep on it. Dogs don’t belong on beds with their owners. Now I’m going to take a shower and when I’m out, you better be in your own bed. Got it?” He asked, trying to look as stern as possible. Derek stared him down before letting out a huff, hopping off the bed. “Ha!” Stiles exclaimed before laughing at himself. “I just won an argument with my dog. Is this what my life has become now?” He inquired then shrugged, gathering his stuff to shower.

Fifteen minutes later, he was squeaky clean, dressed in just sweats, toweling off his hair. And he stopped when he entered the bedroom and saw Derek lying down on Stiles’ bed, head on the pillow besides Stiles’. And if Stiles didn’t know better, he thought he could hear snoring. “Oh hell no. I know you didn’t fall asleep.” He grumbled, moving over to the bed. “Derek, get your doggy butt up.” Stiles shook the dog lightly. Derek, in turn, huffed, and rolled to his other side, but didn’t get up. “....Are you being a pain in my ass on purpose?” Stiles asked and heard another huff. “Okay Stiles, responsible dog owner. You know he belongs on his on bed. Push him off the bed. Right. Okay, I got this.” Stiles moved to do just that then paused. “You know what? I’m thirsty. Yeah, water first then I’ll get to moving him.” He told himself before heading downstairs to the kitchen.

But when he came back up, he knew he didn’t have the heart to move Derek. “I’m such a softie.” He muttered and sighed, getting into bed. “One night, Derek, I swear. Just this one night. No more leniency after this.” He promised out loud, before settling into bed more, turning off the lamp light. 

It didn’t take long after that for Derek to make himself fully at home, and boy, did he make himself at home. A week after first arriving, Derek was sleeping on Stiles bed permanently, his dog bed moved to the living room for the days Stiles worked on files for his consultant job. 

Two days after that and Stiles reached his first impossible task; giving Derek a bath. The idea hadn’t come right away. In fact, Scott had come over, bringing with him enough pizza to feed a small army. And as they sat on the porch, enjoying the good weather, Stiles sighed. “I really need to wash my jeep.” He said then looked over at Scott, smiling sweetly.

“Why do I have to help you?”

“Because you’re the bestest friend to ever best friend and it’ll get the job done all that much sooner.” 

“Fine. But you owe me.”

“Technically, by the tally I keep in my head, you still owe me five more times after this.”

“You keep a tally?”

Stiles grinned. “Nah I’m messing with you. I’ll grab the stuff.” And with that he was heading back inside, leaving Scott with Derek, who was dozing in a sun patch. When Stiles came out with a bucket full of cleaning supplies, Scott spoke up again. “I don’t think your new dog is a fan of me.”

“What? Oh, nah he likes you. He’s probably just annoyed you didn’t give him pepperoni from your pizza.”

“You’re not supposed to give a dog pepperoni! I saw you sneaking him pieces, Stiles. You shouldn’t have.”

“Yeah, yeah. If he ends up gassy or something, then I’ll have learned my lesson. Now come on, we’ve got a jeep to clean.”

“Alright, alright.” Scott conceded, following after.

“So I have an idea you might not agree with.” Scott murmured when they were done washing the jeep, leaning against the front of it.

“What’s that?” Stiles asked, a little worried at the mischievous look on Scott’s face. 

“Well, have you given Derek a bath since you brought him home? They take good care of the animals at the shelter but when’s the last time he got a bath?”

“He doesn’t stink or anything.” 

“Not the point. It’s good to give pets baths at least twice a month. And I mean we are outside, with a hose handy. Don’t you have that plastic kiddy pool too? We’d be all set.”

“True. Alright, yeah, you’ve got a point. Might as well finish taking advantage of the daylight. And I’m sure Derek will love being clean. Let’s do it.” 

Derek, did not in fact, want to be bathed. When Stiles had first approached him, Derek had tilted his head, wondering what Stiles was up to. But he quickly figured it out and for a dog, he was seriously quick. After Scott and Stiles chased Derek for a while, Stiles got an idea. “Hey buddy, come on. The water feels great.” He enticed, kneeling in the kiddy pool that had a couple of feet of water in it already. “Come on, Derek. It’s warm out here. Some cool water would feel great on that black fur.” Derek stopped, tilting his head again, looking at Stiles. “Scott, get in here.”

Scott frowned. “Stiles, you can’t think—”

“Come on!” Stiles hissed, convinced this was the right way to entice his furry friend to join them.

Scott rolled his eyes but managed to kneel next to Stiles. “This is not your best idea, Stiles.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Stiles grinned at Derek, splashing the water. “Come on, buddy, look at us having a good time. Come join us.” 

Derek began to inch closer and Stiles knew he had him. When Derek was within reach, Stiles grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, dragging the dog into the pool. After that was complete chaos. There were massive amounts of splashing, soap going everywhere, and lots (I mean lots) of cursing, both from Scott and Stiles. In the end, a half-wet Derek rolled around in the dirt, tongue lolling while Stiles tried to blink soap out of his eyes. He was a soapy wet mess and Scott wasn’t faring much better. “You have a crazy dog.” He informed Stiles, as if Stiles didn’t know that fact.

“Tell me about it.” Stiles muttered then laughed and laughed until his sides hurt, and tears spilled from his eyes.


	3. Finding Out the Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because even in a different reality, the truth always comes out.

Derek grew on Stiles every day that passed in each other’s company. If Stiles had to run errands in town, he usually brought Derek with him. And even on the nights he stayed up late to work, Derek stayed close, nudging Stiles to focus when Stiles’ attention went elsewhere. And even though Derek had seemed grumpy and stand offish, he had warmed up to Stiles quickly although he was still wary around other people (Except for Scott since the next time Scott came over, he caved and gave Derek some of his burger. Derek was fine with Scott after that). So continued the life of one Stiles Stilinski and his faithful dog, Derek. Everything was going great, which of course, because life being the way it is, meant it was time for something to go wrong.

The first nightmare caught Stiles by surprise. It had been so long since he had one of that caliber. The glimpses of the dream weren’t discernible. But there was so much pain, the searing kind that boiled through one’s veins, causing every nerve ending to sing in the worst imaginable way. And when Stiles shot up in bed, clutching at his chest, he was shocked by the panic attack that was already going towards full blown status. He started to shake, cold sweat breaking out on his skin. But before he could get any worse, there was a whine beside him before he felt a wet snout press against his cheek. “Derek.” Stiles’ voice was rough, heart pounding. “Derek.” He repeated, all he was able to say, before he wrapped his arms around Derek, and held on, turning his head to cry into Derek’s fur. 

The nightmares didn’t stop after that. But every time there was one, every single time Stiles woke from one, Derek was there to comfort him, making it easier. After having nightmares four nights in a row, Stiles had enough. When something was inexplicable to him, he looked for answers. Sleep deprived but determined, he sat down on the couch, Derek lying his head over Stiles’ feet. And Stiles made notes, trying to remember all the glimpses of the nightmares he had, knowing, somehow, they were all pieces of a puzzle. 

The sun was streaming in through the windows hours later and Stiles stared down bleary-eyed at the notes he had made. It still didn’t make sense to him and he knew he needed to get some sleep, try to understand it all when he woke. The thought of having to get up to move to his bed though was too exhausting so he promptly fell asleep right there on the couch. 

When he woke again, Derek was whining. Rubbing his eyes, Stiles looked down and saw the notes he had made all over the floor, Derek pawing at the sketch Stiles had made of the cloaked woman he kept seeing in the nightmares. “Derek? What are you doing, buddy?” He rasped before he yawned. “It’s a sketch, dude. I know the nightmares wake you too. I’m trying to make sense of them I promise. But first, coffee.” Stiles moved off the couch to head to the kitchen but frowned when Derek grabbed the back of Stiles’ shirt with his teeth and tugged. “Derek, it’s too early to play games.” Derek let out a combination sound of a growl and a whine this time and Stiles smacked his head. “Shit, yeah. It’s been a few hours since I last let you out. You probably have to go to the bathroom.” He concluded but when he headed for the porch door, Derek grabbed him by the shirt again. “What the hell, Derek?”

Derek growled again but then something in him caved and he huffed, heading for the door to be let out. Stiles frowned at his strange behavior but opened the door for Derek, leaving it open as he watched Derek take off. Needing that caffeine boost now, Stiles headed to the kitchen for a mug of coffee. When he came back to the living room, he picked up the sketch of the woman. “Who are you?” He asked out loud. Suddenly, as if he was punched in the gut, everything became clear again. 

_“Stiles, don’t do this. We’ll figure something else out. Please, don’t do this.”_

__

_Stiles turned to look at Derek, who was bound and bleeding from wounds even his werewolf healing wasn’t helping. Scott and the rest of the pack were also tied up, and Stiles wasn’t even sure how many of them were conscious now. “No Derek, this is the only choice. You know that. I won’t let you or the others suffer anymore. Not when I can fix it.” Stiles was determined as he turned to face the witch that had come into town. She was a powerful foe and when they lost hope of defeating her, she had come up with a solution. She would leave them alone and never touch the grounds of Beacon Hills. In exchange, she wanted Stiles’ Spark power and his memories. A small price to pay for the lives of his friends, she had told him, and Stiles hadn’t seen another way out, not then._

__

_“Stiles, please!” Derek tried once more to convince Stiles to not do this._

__

_Stiles turned his head, giving Derek a heart-breaking smile. “I love you.” He told Derek before he reached his hand out to the witch to seal the deal._

“Stiles.” Stiles snapped out of it, looking down at his hands, every memory that had been stolen from him ringing clear in his mind now. “Stiles.” Stiles looked up and was pulled against an all too familiar chest. Tears stung his eyes as everything that had happened came crashing back fully. 

“Derek.” He choked out, holding on to his boyfriend, the werewolf he loved so fiercely. They clung to each other for a long time and it wasn’t until Stiles pulled away, wiping at his eyes. “I don’t understand. What happened?”

“You remembered.” Derek began then chuckled. “I’m not wearing any clothes. Here, sit down. I’ll be right back.” He told Stiles, sitting his boyfriend down on the couch before going to grab clothes. He found Stiles still looking shell-shocked when he returned, Derek now dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Carefully he sat behind Stiles, each of his legs on either side of Stiles’, pulling the younger man’s back against his chest. “What all do you remember now?”

“Everything from before the witch, and up until the moment I made the deal with her. Whatever happened after that is a blur. No, wait, that’s not right.” Stiles frowned, trying to focus. “It’s like....”

“Two different lives in your head.” Derek supplied, and Stiles looked up at him. “The one that isn’t real will fade in the next day or so. The witch took your memories, yes, but not in the sense that they just disappeared. She replaced them with memories of what your life would have been like if nothing supernatural had ever touched you. And by remembering the truth, you broke the last of her hold over you, the remaining piece of the spell that lingered over you.”

“How do you know all of this?” Stiles asked, turning so that he could sit in Derek’s lap instead, to be able to look into Derek’s face. 

“Because she told me with her dying breath.” At Stiles’ even more confused look, Derek finished the story. “I lost my mind when she cast her spell over you. I don’t remember everything but, in my rage, I managed to free myself from the bonds, and attack her. She had hurt you, hurt the others, and I had enough. As she lay at my feet dying, she cursed me, cursed all of us. She told me that as long as you didn’t remember the truth, the curse would remain. After that, I woke up in the shelter, with this collar around my neck.” He explained, holding up the now broken collar. “I remembered everything but realized when I saw you, and then your father, and Scott, that I was the only one who knew the truth. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know how. And when I saw that you had a good life, I told myself to let it be, to just remain at your side in this form, if it meant you would have a normal, happy life.”

“Until the nightmares started up.”

“Yeah.” Derek leaned in to give Stiles a kiss on his nose, smiling when Stiles wrinkled his nose, an endearing habit that never got old. “When the nightmares started up, I feared the worst. But this morning, when I saw that sketch, I realized your subconscious was trying to make you remember. It might not be the normal life you were having. And maybe—”

“Shut up.” Stiles interrupted, catching Derek by surprise. “Shut your damn mouth. How dare you even say that to me? Yeah, we’ve had some shitty things happen to us, and to the others. And damn do I wish we all had time to go take a much-needed vacation, but I wouldn’t choose a different life. I have you in this life, and I would never want something else over that.”

Derek stared at Stiles for a long moment before he grinned, pulling Stiles in for a heartfelt kiss. “Sap.” He groused before he kissed Stiles again, happy everything had worked out in the end. 

And you know what? A month later, the entire pack, including Stiles’ Dad and Scott’s Mom, went on vacation. Because you know what? They deserved it. And maybe they drew in a crowd because of all the whooping and cheering. But Derek had chosen their vacation to propose to Stiles, so you couldn’t blame Stiles for saying, “Hell yes!” followed by said whooping and cheering from the others.


End file.
